Chapter 217: Confidence (2)

There are many information guilds around the world, but if asked which one is the best, a hundred out of a hundred would point to France's [Iris Guild].

It makes no difference whether it's an information guild run by an individual or a family, or even a guild operated by the government.

Other information guilds refer to the Iris Guild as an 'insurmountable wall.'

There are several reasons why the Iris Guild rose to become the best among information guilds.

The depth of information and trust accumulated over their long history of maintaining the guild.

The steadfastness that has never crumbled for decades despite presenting themselves as an information guild.

The ability to resolve any request, no matter how difficult, as long as the price is right.

But if you ask what the biggest contributing factor that made the Iris Guild the absolute best is, everyone would answer in unison.

That it's because of the guild master, 'Isaac.'

The man who single-handedly earned the alias Emperor of the Night and ruled the world's nights.

Emperor of the Night Isaac.

He is the guild master of the Iris Guild and Alice's father.

At the exact time Alice was collapsed after receiving a massage from Lee Ho-yeon.

A man walked into the guild master's office of the Iris Guild in France, sweeping his hair back.

"Where did that crazy horse bastard run off to?"

Tsk.

Isaac casually placed a cigar in his mouth and exhaled a puff of smoke.

They had been continuously tracking the Centaur that appeared in France, but it always slipped away right before they could catch it.

He couldn't just let it slide when the results were this disastrous, especially after forming and leading a pursuit team with the Iris Guild's honor on the line.

If it were up to him, he would have loved to track it for a few more days... but he couldn't just neglect the guild either.

Because the messages were piling up.

Because of Isaac's trait of growing stronger at night, he slept during the day and worked at night, and in the dark of the night, even a moment of carelessness could mean life or death.

That was why Isaac ignored all contact attempts during his working hours.

It was precisely this intense focus on his work that allowed him to maintain his position at the very top.

Of course, there was an exception.

He would drop everything and run if his daughter or wife's safety was ever in danger.

That was the reason Isaac could maintain his family despite being a playboy.

Puff, puff.

Isaac exhaled a cloud of smoke as he checked the documents piled up on his desk.

Most matters were handled by his subordinates, but he still had to stop by the guild every few days for issues that required his direct attention like this.

"We're still in the black... Tsk. But the margins shrank like crazy."

Isaac swallowed a groan as he sifted one by one through the mountain of documents that had piled up just from him being away for a few days.

The overall atmosphere of the guild had gone down the drain because of the Centaur that appeared in France.

"I thought our luck was finally turning around this year... until some dogshit monster had to show up."

Out of all places, why did a Boss Monster with such high intelligence have to appear in France?

On top of that, the bastard emitted a dark magic power that was similar to a Demon's, but somehow even more sinister.

According to the research team, it was a completely new breed of monster that had never been seen before, and they theorized that its ridiculous ability to escape was also due to that strange magic power.

Leaning back in his chair as he flipped through the documents one by one, Isaac lazily scribbled his signature on them.

He was tired, and he figured his subordinates had already reviewed them thoroughly anyway.

After all, his wife—the most important reason he lived—was the Vice Guild Master and an incredibly capable woman.

"Ah, here it is."

The second reason Isaac lived.

His daughter, Alice.

Since the academies in France weren't up to par... she had gone off to study abroad at Victoria Academy, the most prestigious institution in the world.

Even with her Congenital Mana Deficiency, she was already being called a Promising Prospect among her peers.

Seeing her do her absolute best despite her difficult circumstances made his love for his daughter naturally well up.

Of course, she was going through puberty lately so she was a bit tough to deal with... but she'd grow out of it soon.

Regardless, as a father constantly worrying about his daughter far away, Isaac received a report on Alice every single week.

'The report I got right before heading out on my mission definitely said she was looking for a treatment from the Holy Maiden Baek A-yeong. And that she had stopped receiving mana massages.'

Mana Massage.

Isaac usually didn't buy into that kind of thing, but if it offered even the slightest glimmer of hope for Alice's treatment, he was willing to invest any amount of money.

Because she was his daughter, Alice.

"The expenses spent on the masseuse... Hmm. That's fine."

The hiring fees themselves weren't that exorbitant.

However, a significant amount of money was spent on the condition of keeping Alice's secret.

They had spent quite a hefty sum without seeing any results... but that was fine.

Because she was his daughter, Alice.

"Hmm, second place in the exam... and the hiring of a new mana masseur... His name is Lee Ho-yeon?"

Lee Ho-yeon.

It was a name he had heard a lot somewhere...

"Wait, this is the bastard who got the Request Voucher."

A Request Voucher that allowed one to make a direct request to the guild master.

It was an item that money couldn't buy.

He was the bastard who took the Request Voucher he had impulsively given away after caving to Alice's rare display of affection.

Of course, he was fine with all of that.

Because she was his daughter, Alice.

If they were really good friends, he could do that much for him.

Besides, thankfully, the request didn't even reach him directly and could be resolved at the Korea Branch Manager's level.

But the real problem lay elsewhere.

"This guy is a man, though."

Hiring a male masseur...?

Sebastian had explicitly stated that Alice only wanted female masseuses.

The documents stated that Alice had personally felt the effects.

"... Could it be a scam?"

Isaac used his smartwatch to search for a photo of Lee Ho-yeon.

Various articles and interviews popped up.

As Isaac played one of the videos, his expression gradually hardened.

That young punk... strongly gave off the scent of his own kindred.

A sly personality and a smooth way with words.

The corners of the mouth that naturally curled up during a conversation.

That signature eye-smile playboys used to bewitch the opposite sex.

And lastly, a frustratingly handsome face.

On top of that, his abilities were incredibly outstanding.

They were already evaluating him as the future of mages worldwide, after all.

It was as if... he was looking at his own younger self.

Isaac's instincts were screaming at him.

That this punk was no ordinary guy.

That he definitely wasn't the kind of man who would make his daughter happy.

"Should I take a short vacation?"

It was about time he gave the pursuit team tracking the Centaur some rest anyway.

A few days of rest should be fine.

Isaac set down the documents about Alice and walked right out of his office.

In a room close to his office, a blonde beauty was in the middle of working.

Isaac naturally approached her.

"Honey? I have somewhere I need to step out to for a bit."

"You're not going off to meet another woman, are you?"

"Of course not. I only have eyes for you. I'm going to see Alice."

"Hmm. You aren't the type of man who would use Alice as an excuse... Alright. Smooch."

Isaac immediately started getting ready to leave for Korea.

And because of that hasty decision, he completely missed the message written on the back of the document.

-----------

P.S. If you, sir, happen to visit in person, I believe Lady Alice will be exceedingly furious. Please leave the matters here to me and focus on the guild's affairs.

- Sincerely, Sebastian -

-----------

*

"Ngh..."

I woke up to the sunlight piercing through my eyelids.

When I opened my eyes, the blackout curtains I had installed to block out the morning sunlight were wide open.

"... Guess they were left open last night."

I hadn't opened them... but there was a chance Liriana opened them before falling asleep.

It's nice not having to go to the academy since it's the weekend.

Back when I was hospitalized, there was no difference between weekdays and weekends. It was funny how going to the academy for just one day made me this happy for the weekend. Humans really are fascinating creatures.

"Eung..."

Liriana was fast asleep, her face buried into my chest to hide from the sunlight.

She was so down in the dumps yesterday, yet here she is sleeping soundly.

Of course, this was much better than her being depressed.

I gave Liriana's breast a quick pinch as she lay next to me, then covered her with the blanket and got out of bed.

The time was 6 AM.

Since it was so early, there was probably no one awake...

Wait, never mind.

I could hear the clattering of dishes coming from the kitchen.

Among the people living in this dormitory, there were only two who ever stepped foot in the kitchen.

But since Scarlet wasn't here... that left only one person.

I walked into the kitchen in my pajamas and called out a greeting.

"Good morning."

"You're awake. You looked like you were sleeping quite well with Ms. Liriana."

"... Ahem."

I let out an awkward chuckle out of sudden embarrassment, but Nam Da-eun kept her hands busy as if she didn't care in the slightest.

I walked closer and saw that she was making simple dishes like gimbap and rolled omelets.

Cute octopus-shaped sausages and character fish cakes were also a bonus.

"What are you making all this for?"

"I'm going out to hang out with Da-hee today."

"Oh... I'm jealous. Take me with you."

I was just trying to figure out what to do today since my schedule was empty, so this worked out perfectly.

"No way. We're going to spend some quality time just the two of us today."

Seriously, these sisters already spent time just the two of them every single day, so how much more time did they really need?

Still, seeing Nam Da-eun rolling gimbap with such a joyful smile on her face put me in a good mood.

Wanting to tease her for no reason, I placed my hand on Nam Da-eun's breast and started fondling it.

"Feed me one of those sausages."

"I bought exactly enough of those for Da-hee and me... Can't you just have a rolled omelet instead?"

Nam Da-eun looked at me with a slightly troubled expression.

Seeing that expression only made me want to tease her even more.

I continued speaking while fondling her breast even more vigorously.

"I thought we were in a dating relationship. Are you really going to act like this after saying it with your own mouth?"

The day we finally got our revenge on Park Min-gyu.

It was what Nam Da-eun had told Da-hee when we all ate together.

Just as I expected, Nam Da-eun's face slowly began to turn red the moment I brought it up.

"... You can eat all of mine."

"I'm just joking. How could I ever steal yours?"

"You're so mean."

"Heh, come to think of it, where is Da-hee?"

"She'll be up soon. I was originally going to wake her up when I got up... but I couldn't bring myself to do it since you and Ms. Liriana were sleeping together with your nude bodies exposed."

"... Sorry about that."

I didn't know how to respond when she suddenly dropped that on me.

Feeling apologetic towards Nam Da-eun, I gently removed my hand from her breast.

"By the way, were you the one who opened those blackout curtains?"

"Yeah. I couldn't exactly shake you awake, after all."

"... Oh."

To think she refused to touch her sleeping boyfriend's body just to let him rest—was there another Good Wife and Wise Mother like her in this world?

I was so moved that I tried to pull Nam Da-eun into a hug, but I heard the door opening with a Creak-.

I quickly pulled my hands away from Nam Da-eun's body.

"Unnie... why didn't you wake me up?"

"I'm sorry, Da-hee. Are you awake?"

Nam Da-eun gently pushed me aside and ran over to Nam Da-hee.

Smack.

I felt like I had just become a piece of trash for no reason.

I threw myself onto the living room sofa and checked my smartwatch.

"I should ask what... Lucy and Rumi are up to. Ms. A-yeong is probably busy. Ah, I need to grab a meal with Su-rin Nuna too."

I sent a message to Lucy and Rumi, and then fired off another one to Su-rin Nuna asking what she was up to.

Ddiring-

"Oh. That was fast."

A reply arrived the exact moment I sent the message.

- Su-rin Nuna: I was planning on just resting since I don't have any plans today. Do you want to hang out with Nuna?

- Me: Yes. Would you like to grab lunch together to celebrate my discharge from the hospital?

- Su-rin Nuna: I'd love that.

The early bird catches the worm, as they say.

Today, I should definitely meet up with our Su-rin Nuna.